LEONARD PATRICK MURPHY U.S. ARMY VETERINARY CORPS WW1

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This website is dedicated to my grandfather Sergeant Leonard Patrick Murphy who was in the Veterinary Corps in WW 1. Leonard was with the Veterinary Hospital No. 18 assigned to Sougy France south of Paris. Leonard crossed the Atlantic Ocean bringing horses and supplies to the War effort in Europe in 1918.We think from the information that we now have knowing the name of the ship he probably disenbarked at Quiberon Bay just a little north of St. Nazaire, France Leonard was borne to Patrick and Margaret Rogers Murphy in Polk County Wisconsin at Milltown and grew up in Milltown. Leonard married Esther Kulibert in Ladysmith Wisconsin on May 3 1924 and lived there with their son Emmett and daughter Geraldine Murphy Krenzelok. After retiring Leonard and Esther moved to their son's ranch in San Antonio, Texas.

After a long research on the above ribbons that Leonard is wearing on the right side of his uniform in the above picture I am very sure the first ribbon on the left is the Victory ribbon, the second ribbon from the left is what I thought was the Army of Occupation ribbon (I have since learnt that this medal for WW1 wasn't created until 1941 so further research is needed on this one) and the last ribbon has been very hard to research but I believe it is the Service to the Allies ribbon. All of these ribbons would also have a medal to go with the ribbons. Leonard is wearing an enlisted man's uniform and is probably his going home uniform, which was usually fully decorated, with his military service. One interesting note is the insignia he is wearing on his collars. He is wearing Officers type collar insignias when he should be wearing the round disc type of an enlisted man. I believe he is wearing the rank of sergeant at this time. I am not able to figure out his reason for wearing Officer's collar insignias. I have been told that some non-commissioned officers in the Medical and Veterinary Corps did wear Officer's insignias but this is not confirmed Also notice the patch on his left arm indicating what unit he is attached to. His may have been the Veterinary Field Hospital No. 18 patch. It is very rare to find any WW1 Veterinary patches and if you found this one it would be very valuable. He is also wearing the summer cotton kaki uniform this uniform was mostly wore in the US and the wool uniforms were almost always wore overseas

Click on the below link to see larger pictures of Leonard Murphy in WW1

Entered Service on 7-26-1918 at Fort Snelling, Minn.. The MURPHY BOOK by Byron and Mary Doyle states Leonard enlisted in the Veterinary Corps at Fort Snelling

Made Private First Class on 9-14-1918, S.O. (Special Order #27)

Made Corporal on 11-1-1918, S.O. (Special Order #6)

Made Sergeant April 1 1919

Leonard Murphy went to Fort Riley, Kansas on 7-26-1918, Attended M.O.T.S (Medical Officer's Training School) (Camp Funston's was part of Fort Riley when doing research) this would have been his Basic training in some type of medical service. Fort Riley was one of three MOTS centers in the country. The main function of the MOTS was the train civilian doctors into the military way of doing things and doctoring under battle conditions. The camp also trained enlisted men who were attached to the Medical Corp. All areas of the medical corp. needed enlisted man to maintain each branch of the medical corp. Enlisted men were needed to be medics, stretcher bearers, men to set-up field hospitals, ambulance drivers and enlisted men for the Veterinary Corp which Leonard would become a part of. It is most likely his father Patrick Murphy being a self taught Veterinarian back home in Milltown, WI had something to do with Leonard and his love of horses for being assigned to the Veterinary Corps.

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Leonard Murphy went to Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va. on 9-17-1918 and attended V.O.T.S (Veterinary Officer's Training School). It was here that he received his training for the veterinary corp. Camp Lee was one of the 3 Veterinary training centers. Here again as at Fort Riley civilian Veterinarians were being trained in the Army's way of doing things and working under battle conditions. Once again enlisted men were needed to fill all the positions needed to keep the Veterinary Corps running smoothly. Another reason the Army wanted enlisted men at these camps was to allow the newly train medical doctors now commissioned officers a chance to practice giving orders to men below them and start the bond building the these men would need in battle and field conditions. Also Veterinary Hospital No. 18 and other Veterinary Hospitals were organized here and it was probably here that Leonard became part of Veterinary Hospital No. 18 before the hospital was shipped overseas. Training here was also 3 months.

Went to Camp Mills, Mineola, Long Island, N.Y. on 10-27-1918. Camp Mills was a training camp for men of New York and other states and also a debarkation camp for units going overseas. Leonard and Veterinary No. 18 hospital came here from Camp Lee and were made ready to go to France.

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Went to P.O.E (Point of embarkation) 11-8-1918, which for Veterinary Hospital No. 18 were the docks of Hoboken on the New York harbor. We have the ship's name in his Bible but at this time we have had no luck in finding this transport ship. It was probably a small cattle or horse type transport according to Leonard's going overseas stories we have.

Note March 2005 Thanks to Bob Swanson we now have the name and a picture of the ship Leonard when to France on. I found Bob's website and asked him if he could help me figure out Leonard's handwriting and the name of the ship. With Bob's WW1 research experience he was able to figure what ship this was. The name of the ship is the Tjisondari a Dutch made ship.

Bob's website: Identifying Troopship Picture Postcards

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The Tjisondari was a Dutch ship taken over by the US Navy in WW1 the picture was taken around 1918 to 1919. The history of the ship is at the bottom of this page with a link.

On Leonard's first trip overseas there were 800 horses on board in which they had to take care of. Many of the horses died on the trip over. The dead horse would have to be moved in the hole of the ship to where the boom of the ship could be lowered and the dead horse winched up to the deck and sent over the side of the ship. Leonard said he was told to take good care of the horses as they cost 200 dollars each and they could get men like me for nothing. It took 14 days to go across to France the first time and he was seasick most of the time. At Veterinary Hospital No. 18 the men cared for 1200 head of sick and injured horses that came in from the front

Click on the below link to view a really nice picture of the SS Tjisondari

Click on the below link to learn about the S/S Keresaspa

We are not sure at what port Veterinary Hospital No. 18 arrived at in France but that should be able to be figured out with farther research. There were only a few ports where they arrived. We do know that Leonard sailed to Quiberon Bay. Sailing for the United States on 17 October, she entered New York harbor on October 28 1918. While there, stalls were built in the ship enabling her to carry 721 horses. The ship then took on cargo, filled her stalls with horses, and sailed once more for France on November 27th 1918 (According to Leonard's Military Bible and records the ship left for France on November 8 1918. The ship-entered Quiberon Bay on 9 December discharged her cargo, and headed home).

Veterinary Hospital No. 18 is assigned to Sougy France south of Paris on one of the main railroad lines in France in the intermediate sector of the front. And thanks to the Texas Murphy's we now know he received his promotion to sergeant here. Veterinary Hospital had 7 Medical Officers and 300 enlisted men (Leonard was one of these). Veterinary Hospital was demobilized on July 1919 at Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Iowa

VC Hospital No 18 “WW1 Camp Art” Discovered at Petaluma, CA a few years ago by Jack and Valerie (Rubke) Barry from Davis, CA. Jack is from Cincinnati and Valerie is a 4th generation Californian from Sonoma, CA. Jack and Valerie have been so kind as to share 2 ink sketches drawn by “ D.C. Hites” during WW1 at Sougy, France with our Murphy Family and with you also. I believe what D.C. Hites refers to, as the delousing station is really the Animal Dipping Vat at VC hospital No 18. When I first looked at this sketch I compared the sketch to the Dipping Vat picture and noticed the first buildings roofline had a roof facing you and the next building the peak of the roof is facing you. And the building windows were close enough for this type of sketch that was probably drawn for fun. I feel this was close enough for me to believe that this sketch is truly a genuine picture of VC hospital No 18. I enjoy the sketch because it gives you a sense of what it was like to get the horses and mules to go through the line into the vat and up the ramp on the other side and it looks like they may have then gone into a building to be inspected and then fed and released. I cannot thank Jack and Valerie enough for sharing this wonderful discovery with our family who are so fortunate to see a part of what my grandfather Leonard Murphy went through many times. Because there were only around 300 enlisted men plus officers in the unit it is a very rare find. Jack and Valerie now enjoy this sketch and another sketch that D.C. Hites made in 1919 with a cowboy and his girl friend hanging on their wall, which is presumed to be D.C. Hites himself.

Veterinary Hospital No. 18: Organized at Camp Lee in September 1918 stationed at Camp Mills New York from October 1918 to November 1918. Point of Embarkation (P.O.E) Hoboken New York Overseas from November 1918 to July 1919 at Sougy Nievre France south of Paris and south of Nevers France. Demobilization at Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Iowa

NEVERS FRANCE DURING WW1

The city of Nevers was about 18 miles for Sougy and the center of a lot of US Army organizations and a very important hub of the area. I am sure much time were spent in the city of Nevers by the US troops. Nevers was an amazing city with a lot of history in it.

SOS Services of Supply

territory embraced the whole of France outside the zone of active military operations and was divided into nine Base Sections (six in France), which included the ports of arrival and the large rest camps in their vicinity, and one Intermediate Section, across which ran the lines of communication and in which were located the main storage depots of the A E F, a number of great industrial plants engaged in the production of war materials, and training camps for the air force, artillery, and other technical services. The District of Paris was a separate administrative area, the seat of the Headquarters Organization and its several bureaus, within the same territory. In the Base Sections were quartered about one-third of the entire A E F 550,000 men, forever preparing and passing forward the materials essential to the combat divisions.

INTERMEDIATE SECTION

The Intermediate Section, which occupied a great area in the central
part of France extending from northwest to southeast, served as
a storehouse for supplies and the connecting link between the base
ports and the fighting troops in the Advance Section. Along the Stations lines of communication which traversed it in three main highways were located a series of great storage centers and industrial plants whose operations gave employment to thousands of members of the A E F, as well as camps where other activities essential to the conduct of the war at the front were carried on, such as the supplying of replacements to combat divisions, the reclassification of troops for various reasons, and the training of men for aviation, artillery, and other technical services. 71 stations along the lines of communication, at such centers as
the Headquarters of the S 0 S at Tours, the storage depot at Gievres,
and the casual camps at Blois and St. Aignan, 20 stations at the artillery
camps, such as Valdahon, Mailly, and Coetquidan, 10 in the
newly organized aviation centers at Issoudun and elsewhere, 12 serving
detached units of engineers and foresters, and, by arrangement
with the Red Cross, 11 at ambulance headquarters and military hospitals—
total 204 in the S 0 S, an equipment which increased later.
In general, the work done in the Intermediate Section was similar
in character to that done in the Base Sections

Leonard was discharge at Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill (Leonard's daughter's friend in Ladysmith, WI. Found this out through the American Legion Post stationed there).

Leonard's hand writing in his Army Bible

Leonard's WW1 dogtags

Platoon No. 3 Roster, Sergeant Murphy in charge. We would like to thank my cousin Mary and their family for providing this document.

Click on the below link for Veterinary Hospital No 18 Roster, Platoon No 3

Orders Memo to Sergeant Murphy. We would like to thank my cousin Mary and their family for providing this document.

Leonard and son Emmett picture taken in Ladysmith Wisconsin on VJ day 1945. Emmett had served overseas in Burma during WW2 as part of a Army Air Force ground crew and was also in Army intelligence during the war in England. He served for many years after the war until he retired as a Master Sergeant in the Air Force

Click on the below link to see Leonard and Emmett pictures on VJ Day 1945

Leonard was one of the first to join the American Legion at the end of the WW1 and was a faithful member along with his wife Esther who also was a very activate member until he passed away. He was always proud to be in the American Legion. This picture was taken when he was living on the ranch in San Antonia, Texas with his son and family.

The first caucus of The American Legion, conducted by veterans of the American Expeditionary Force, March 15-17, 1919, in Paris, France. Note: Leonard attended the first caucus in Paris in 1919.

The sharp, clipped rhythm of hobmails echoed in the halls of the old French residence of No. 4 Avenue Gabriel the morning of March 15 as the first arriving delegates walked to the drawing room. Soon the room was crowded. On the delegates’ shoulders were most of the divisional patches. Like the tunes of glory, they were, to the fighting man, familiar and evoked memory. They were associated with violent events just as patches in future wars had their distinction and the power to stir the recollection of brothers-in-arms. The feeling grew that this was a representative meeting so far as the geopraphy of Army organization was concerned. Delegates took seats beneath marker for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 26th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 32nd, 33rd, 35th, 36th, 41st, 42nd, 77th, 78th, 79th, 80th, 81st, 82nd, 83rd, 88th, 89th, and 91st Divisions; First, Second and Third Armies; GHQ; Headquarters, S.O.S.; Advance Section, S.O.S.; Intermediate, S.O.S.; Base Sections 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7, S.O.S.; Paris Command; and Troops serving with the French.

Expection gradually replaced the general feeling of reserve as the hum of conversation filled this foreign salon. Perhaps some of those present realized vaguely that they were there to organize. If the earth has raised a race of men talented at organization it is the American. The comfidence of some that they could forge a satisfactory and lasting organization, like a village smiht pounding out a horseshoe, perhaps equaled their self-assurance that they could win a fight. But these confident souls were in a minority. Most of the several hundred congregated at No. 4 Avenue Gabriel were curious and most circumspect. They were also very cold, for the March air penetrated the building.

And by Monday morning March 17, 1919 committees had accomplished their work and the ranks of delegates had swelled, making a move to the Cirque de Paris advisable.

“We the members of the Military and Naval Sevice of the United States of America in the great war, desiring to perpetuate the principles of Justice, Freedon, and Democracy for which we have fought, to inculcate the duty and obligation of the citizen to the State; to preserve the history and incidents of our participation in the war; and to cement the ties of comradeship formed in service, do propose to found and establish an association for the furtherance of the foregoing purposes.” The American Legion was borne.

From The American Legion Story by Raymond Moley, Jr.

A copy of the above picture of the American Legion Paris Caucus was donated to the American Legion Post 375 Arthur Gembler in San Antonio, Texas by Leonard’s wife Esther and is on display at the post. I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart Cyndi Miller, American Legion, State of TX Historian who has sent the above picture to me.

Emmett,Geraldine,Leonard's wife Esther and Leonard in the background

Click on the below link to go to the "Our Family the Murphys Website"

Important Notice to future Murphy family researchers: Byron and his wife Mary Doyle published a very limit amount of copies of books on the Murphy family history and also the ROGER Family. It is a very complete book of our Murphy and Roger's line from Ireland to America. The book was published in 1981 and Byron donated a copy to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and this book is at their library in Salt Lake City. You can also go to their website:

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To confirm that they do have the book: Go to the FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY SYSTEM and click on SEARCH THE FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY CATALOG FOR RECORD AND RESOURCES. Now click on AUTHOR SEARCH put in DOYLE in the surname box and BYRON in the first name box. Click on search and click on DOYLE, BYRON, DANIEL, 1917 and you will find the listing for the Murphy Book and the Rogers book. Byron's mother Rose was Leonard's sister. Byron and his wife Mary worked very hard and did a wonderful job on tracing our Murphy family history in this book. Many of the families did buy this book at the time of publishing in 1981 but now copies are very rare. It is good to know that if the family did want to research this book it is available at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City

Microfilm copies of the MURPHY AND ROGERS BOOK are available by contacting the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints(LDS)at their research centers in your area or at their library in Salt Lake City

I would be happy to do look-ups from the MURPHY BOOK if you can send me a list of 2 or 3 generations starting no later than 1981 of your family tree or you can for sure trace your family to the Polk County Wisconsin Murphys.

The Polk County Murphy's are descendants of James and Mary Anne O'Donnell Murphy who lived at the estate of Ardglass in Co. Cork Ireland. James and Mary were borne in 1790 according to the MURPHY BOOK. They had 8 children and 4 of their children Sarah, Bridget, Margaret and William came to America and ended up in Polk County Wisconsin. William and his wife Mary Clancy Murphy are Leonard's grandparents. William and Mary Clancy's children were: Mary Ann, James, William, Patrick, John, Edward. Leonard's parents Patrick and Margaret(Maggie)Murphy children were: Mary, Rose, Margaret, Leonard, Sylvester and Veronica.

Tjisondari (US Navy ID 2783)

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Cargo Ship: Built in 1915 by Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde, Flushing, Holland; Acquired by the Navy 22 March 1918; Commissioned 3 April 1918; Decommissioned 23 August 1919 and returned to her owner, the Java China-Japan Line. Fate unknown

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Tjisondari-a freighter built in 1915 at Flushing, Holland, by Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde and owned and operated under the Dutch flag by the Java China-Japan Line-was seized by American customs officials in the Philippine Islands at Manila after the United States entered World War I. The ship was taken over by the Navy from the United States Shipping Board on 22 March 1918 and commissioned on 3 April.

Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, the ship sailed five days later for the west coast of the United States and reached San Francisco on 5 May. There, she was refitted for naval service, loaded with Army supplies, and got underway on the 29th for the east coast. After steaming south to Panama, she transited the canal, proceeded north along the Atlantic coast, and arrived at New York on 20 June. Following minor repairs and bunkering with coal, Tjisondari sailed in convoy on Independence Day for France. The Allied ships reached Brest on the 19th- and, the next day, she began discharging her cargo at St. Nazaire. She headed homeward in convoy on 15 August and returned to New York on the 26th

After taking on another cargo of Army supplies, the vessel got underway again in convoy for Europe on 6 September. Her convoy made port at St. Nazaire on the 25th and proceeded thence to Brest where she unloaded. Sailing for the United States on 17 October, she entered New York harbor on the 28th. While there, stalls were built in the ship enabling her to carry 721 horses. The ship then took on cargo, filled her stalls with horses, and sailed once more for France on 27 November. The ship entered Quiberon Bay on 9 December discharged her cargo, and headed home. However, after she passed between Cape May and Cape Henlopen, the ship ran aground and damaged her hull while ascending the Delaware River. Hence, when she finally reached Philadelphia on 6 January 1919, the vessel badly needed yard work.

Repairs and reloading delayed the ship at Philadelphia until she got underway on 19 February, bound for Denmark laden with flour. She discharged her cargo at Copenhagen and headed homeward on 29 March.

Tjisondari made port at New York on 10 April and following voyage repairs, headed for Hampton Roads on the 23d. She took on board a cargo of oil at Norfolk and carried it-via the Panama Canal, San Francisco and Hong Kong-to the Philippines. She reached Manila on 23 May. Three months later, on 23 August the ship was decommissioned and returned to her owner.

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